Brown lens
by irosnea55
Summary: 21 jump Street meets the Depp's! Tom Hanson has a new assignment where he has to stop a paparazzi from bothering Johnny Depp's daughter Lily Rose.
1. Chapter 1

**A new fanfic for you guys! This was probably the first non-depressive fan fic I wrote and has plenty of humor :)**

It had been a slow day for the undercover officers at the Jump Street Chapel. They had no case on their hands leaving their day uneventful. Tom Hanson laid back in his chair with his feet propped upon his desk, mindlessly chewing the plastic of his biro. Doug Penhall argued non-stop with his bratty girlfriend, Dorothy over the phone whilst Judy and Harry playfully bantered to each other.

"HANSON!"

The three officers stopped what they were doing and eyed Tom with jealousy over the fact Captain Adam Fuller rescued him from boredom and was possibly given a case over them.

"Wish me luck," he smirked at them before beelining to Fuller's office.

"I have an assignment which just come up which I think you would be perfect for," Fuller told him as soon as he sat down. "A daughter of a movie star -"

"Captain!" he interuppted in horror. "You promised not to put me on cases that has anything to do with movie stars since the Jeremy Woods case!"

Fuller disregarded him and continued. "The movie actor's sixteen year old daughter named Lily Rose, filed a complaint about a particular paparazzi who often snaps pictures of her whilst at school. She says it's not unusual to find over twenty pictures would be snapped and published each week." He passed him a file. "Most of the pictures are in there."

He hastily retrieved the file and flipped it open. There was a detailed report with sufficient amount of photos of a seemingly ordinary girl. He found the photos quite creepy because there were pictures of the girl sitting in lessons, playing sports, eating lunch and chatting with her friends without her aknowledgement. She looked pretty, with brown soulful eyes and shoulder length blond hair but looked too young and too vulnerable for such public attention.

"She also has a younger brother named Jack who goes to the same school but he doesn't get the same amount of attention because he prefers to stay out of the limelight. Lily however, has done several photoshoots and one movie," Fuller explained. "In this assignment, I need you to find out who this paparazzi is."

"But there's no law against paparazzis taking pictures and publishing them," he pointed out.

"That's right," Fuller agreed. "But it's getting out of hand and they are technically trespassing on private property."

"What will we charge the paparazzi for then?"

"Nothing. We can only let him off with a warning."

To say he wans't happy was an understatement because he thought assignment was unsatisfying. He would have liked to be on a drug or murder case instead of this.

"Look, I think it's terrible for the girl and everything, but why me? Why not take Judy as she's a girl and all?"

"The girl specifically asked for a good looking cop."

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "She sounds like trouble already!"

Fuller chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "But seriously Hanson, it's an invasion of her privacy and she feels it's affecting her education, safety and her friendships."

"Ok fine, I take it," he sighed. It was better than sitting around chewing his biro until breaking into the ink. "Who's this movie star then?"

"Johnny Depp."

His name rang a bell. "Wasn't he that guy who played an annoying, drunken pirate in some movie fanchise?"

"That's the one."

"Oh well, that is just wonderful!" he remarked with undeniable sarcasm in his voice.

"You don't have to worry about it Hanson," Fuller frowned. "It would be unlikely that you'll bump into him because he's currently busy working on a movie in London."

"Who looks after her then? Her mother?"

"Yes, her mother looks after her. But she tends to work a lot as well," Fuller replied. "She's a french singer so she often goes back and forth between two countries."

"Why don't they just live in France then?"

Irritation spread across his captain's face. "I wouldn't know Hanson! So why don't you save the questions for the girl instead of asking me?"

"Sorry captain," he apologised quickly.

He hated it when Fuller got mad. His eyes would flash dangerously and his voice boomed loud enough to pop his ears. To boil down his anger, he accepted the case without any more questions and left the office.

"You've got yourself a case?" Judy asked, enviously eyeing the file tucked under his arm.

"Yeah, I just have to be a bodyguard for some movie star's daughter," he replied unenthusiastically.

"A movie star?" Judy gasped. "Who is it?"

"Johnny Depp."

Judy let out a squeal as soon as he revealed his name. "I love that actor!" she blushed. "I hope you will get me to meet him!"

"Sorry Jude, he's in London working on a movie," he replied. "I'm just looking out for his daughter."

Judy pouted in disappointment. "That's a shame. He's hot - and I love that movie called Edward Scissorhands."

"He was in that too?" he questioned in surprise. "I don't know which one is worse, a drunken pirate or a guy who has scissors for hands."

Harry let out a chuckle. "You really hate movie stars don't you?"

"Yes because all they do is stand around, say a few lines and _bam_ , they get paid more money than we do."

"Yeah!" Doug agreed. "All they get is cameras pointed in their faces while we have guns pointed in our faces."

He remembered Doug said that before when they were posed as bodyguards for the Jeremy Woods case which was less than a year ago. Their job back then was to stop the actor from beating the crap out of the paparazzis, his own director and his co-workers whilst working on a movie. He was self-absorbed and arrogant and he once started a fight with him because he wasn't there to stop a deranged fan girl from sneaking into his trailer.

"Do you guys know anything about his daughter?" he asked.

"I've seen a few pictures of her in magazines," Judy replied. "And I'm pretty sure she did a movie once - anyway, why did Fuller give _you_ the assignment and not us?"

"Basically, the girl requested someone of my profile," he answered.

"She asked for a dork?" Doug joked.

"I'm not a dork!" he fired back. He held his head up high and gave all the officers a snarky look. "Now if you excuse me guys, I'll be busy on my case riding in limos and drinking martinis."

He said that to make jealousy flash in their eyes - and it worked.

 **Authors note: I know it'll sound a bit confusing but... it's still set in the 80's but the Depp's are shown in present time. It's set in late season two. Tom isn't seen as Johnny Depp although he looks the same. and it's also set in Vancouver where the show was filmed.**


	2. Chapter 2

On the first day of his assignment, he was ordered to wait outside the school gates for Lily Rose to arrive. He already met with the school headteacher an hour before to register as a new student. The headteacher was nice enough but had no idea he was working undercover. It was better that way because most schools were against undercover cops posing as students, believing it would affect their students education and privacy. 'Harrassment of the students bodies' they say.

The school named _Oakwood_ was small and posh looking, with red-bricks and perfectly trimmed grass. He must have been to over twenty schools since he was an undercover cop. But this one stuck out because it looked modern with wooden, glossy floors and graffiti-free walls.

While he waited for Lily, he noticed some students were wearing expensive designer clothing and were getting dropped off by their parents in luxury cars. It didn't surprise him because parents had to pay for their kids just to register at the school and it had costly tuitions and other fees.

He was supposed to look out for the paparazzi but felt too disctracted by his own discomfort. He had never been wealthy like those kids and his clothes were just ordinary. He wore a pair of old jeans, a black shirt and a brown tattered leather jacket. He remembered Judy got him that jacket when he first started out at Jump Street. She gave him a makeover by getting rid of all his 'dorky' clothes and replacing them with clothes a teenager would wear.

"Bye Lenz!" He heard a girl called out.

He tracked down the voice and saw a girl wearing jean shorts and a white, strappy top. She had a thin build, shoulder length blond hair and brown eyes. He instantly knew it was Lily Rose. She was getting out of a black SUV along with her younger brother Jack who had short brown hair. Hlooked shorter and much younger than her with similar, angelic facial features

He went up to them to introduce himself. "Hi, you must be Jack and Lily Rose," he greeted. "I'm officer Tom Hanson who will be working with you."

Lily took one good look at him and chuckled. "Not bad at all," she commented. "You don't even look like a cop."

The driver in the SUV peeked out to have a look. He looked Italian and looked like he was in his forties. "Yeah, you really don't!" he agreed

"Well that's a good thing otherwise I'll be out of the job," he said half-seriously.

"How old are you, if I may ask?" the driver asked.

"I'm almost twenty-three."

He nodded. "I'm Lenz Damien by the way," he said. "I'm also the kids bodyguard but Lily tends to get embarrassed having me around sometimes so it's good to have you," he laughed.

"It's time for you to leave now Lenz!" she teased.

Lenz knew she was joking but waved goodbye and drove off.

"Just so you should know, you have to call me by my cover name - Tom Harrisson in order to protect my identity."

"Does that mean I can't tell anyone in school that you are a cop?" Lily questioned.

"Definitely not."

"I was looking forward to telling everyone though!" Jack pouted.

"I can't even tell my best friend?" Lily asked glumly.

"Sorry, can't risk it. Once it slips that I'm a cop, it would spread like wildfire and could endanger my safety and my job."

"Do you have a gun at least?" Jack asked with eargerness in his voice.

"No, I usually avoid taking it to school with me just in case anyone comes across it."

"Man, that sucks," Jack whined.

He struggled to supress a smirk. _Cute kid_.

"Well, I'm outta here!" Jack huffed before running off to join a group of kids that looked his age. He watched him carefully just to make sure he wasn't going to babble about him.

"Will you pretend to be my boyfriend?"

He turned his attention on her with a frown etched upon his face. "No, because I haven't been asked to do that in the assignment - and we never do that either unless we really have to."

She laughed. "I was only joking! I now wish I asked for a cop with a sense of humor."

He began to get annoyed of her bad attitude. "Can you just refresh my memory as to why I'm here because I'm starting to forget."

Her facade suddely fell away and unveild a sad, fearful, vulnerable girl. "It's because I have no idea if some creep is hiding behind the bushes taking pictures of us talking at this moment," she replied quietly.

"When did you first notice it?"

"Hard to say because they, the paparazzis, had been snapping pictures and invading my privacy ever since I was born," she despaired. "I got used to it until I discovered the photos of me at school in a magazine about a month ago. Then I saw more and more photos and most of them were taken during private, special moments. The one that hit me the most, was photos of me comforting a friend of mine who was crying because her rabbit died," she said. "I know it's the same guy taking the photos because I see him lurking around a lot."

She quickly turned her head in diferent directions as she scanned her surroundings. He had a look as well, making sure to check shadows, lens protruding out of bushes and spaces behind trees.

"You may not see him... but he's there all right."

He could label this girl paranoid, but there was no denying that if he saw photos of him snapped without his knowledge, he would be paranoid too.

Suddenly, the school bell went off, sliding the paranoia off their shoulders.

"Come on, we better get moving before we miss the first lesson," Lily said, taking his arm to lead him to the school.

The first lesson was maths. There was only eight people consisting of five girls and three boys sitting behind their desks. They stopped talking and turned to his direction as soon as he came through the door.

"Look what I found!" Lily told them. "He just transferred here today." She paused and her eyes questionly swerved into his. "What's your name again?"

"Tom Harrisson."

"I almost forgot," Lily smirked.

He gave her a warning glance to remind her not to blow his cover but she just giggled in response. He was introduced to her classmates and discovered one of them was her best friend named Avery while her other two friends in the classroom was named Becca and Ruby. They were giggling too and blushing furiously. He was quite used to the attention because he had pretty boy looks which he personally hated. He had bambi eyes, full lips and high cheekbones which was the reason for taking away his chance to be a real cop - not an undercover one who goes in high schools.

Suddenly, a teacher rushed into the room breathless and looking flustered. "I'm sorrry I'm late. I spent most of the morning looking for my car keys!"

"Hey Mr. Stevens, you used the same excuse two days ago!" a kid named Jake called out.

"Yes, but this time I'm not lying," Mr Stevens joked. His eyes surveyed around the room and stopped. "You must Tom Harrisson," he smiled. "Why don't you tell us about yourself?"

He hated these things. No matter how many times he done it, it never got any easier. He got up and babbled a lie about transferring to another school because his dad found a higher paid job at some corporate company.

The lesson like the others throughout the day, was quite complicated for him to catch up on. He could understand why the cost of the tuitons was so high. In the lessons, he made sure not to forget to check for any camera lens peeking through the windows. But one teacher eventually noticed.

"See anything interesting Harrisson?" the science teacher frowned with hands on her hips.

He responded with an apology and only took quick glances now and again. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary until Lily, her friends including Jack sat on the bench together one lunch time laughing and talking whilst eating their packed lunches. He saw a shadow lurking behind one of the trees and there was something shiny reflecting off the sun. He was sure they were lens. By time he sprinted over, the paparazzi had vanished without a trace.

Lily cautiously walked over to him. "Is he gone?"

"Yes," he sighed in disappointment. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to catch him."

She looked million miles away and had sadness staining her eyes. "I was having a good time with friends until he ruined it. He just ruins everything."

 **Authors note: Sorry I made Lily act like a bitch - it just came out that way because in real life there was some not so nice things her classmates said about her when she was at school. Besides I wanted some conflict between her and Tom.**

 **I'm sure the real lily rose is a sweetheart by the things people say about her :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it's been a long time since I updated, it's just I've been debating whether to delete this story because I was worried no one is gonna like it.**

"So, what do you think of the girl?" Was the question he was asked by Fuller and his co-workers after he got back to the chapel after a long day at school.

He disliked her at first because she was rude to him. However, he could see the whole situation was affecting her and felt it was his duty as a cop to protect her. It didn't take him long to feel frustrated by the fact there was no laws against paparazzi's from invading famous people's privacy and taking pictures. He believed the paparazzi should be charged for stalking rather than letting him off with a warning.

"She's alright," he answered coolly. "Obviously affected by the situation but still has a bad attitude at times like most famous people."

"Did she say anything about her father?" Judy asked earnestly.

"Nothing actually," he replied.

To say Judy looked disappointed was an understatement. She rallied quickly however. "Hopefully she will at some point!"

He knew what Judy was like because she crushed over Jeremy Woods and once went out and delivered phone messages to him just so she could meet the actor. There was a reason why Captain Fuller refused to involve her in the Woods case!

On the next day on the assignment, he kept his eyes peeled while taking Lily's attitude all morning.

"Why don't you try modelling instead of being a cop?" she asked at lunchtime. To make a point, she opened her locker to reveal two posters of a-ha and Michael J fox taped on the back. "I mean you are even hotter than these guys!"

He was about to argue that being a cop was more important than modelling but instead he reminded her to be quiet in case anybody in the halls overheard.

"Careful what you say because I'm undercover remember!" he whispered in her ear.

She rolled her eyes. "Relax! No one even heard me."

A frown swept across his face and he could feel his blood beginning to boil. He thought it was best to remove himself from the situation so he turned his heel and walked away.

"I'm going to lunch."

She caught up with him in a heartbeat.

"You're supposed to look out for me," she huffed. "It's what you are being paid for, remember?"

She was right unfortunately - but he was still irked with her.

She picked that up when he gave her the silent treatment whilst they ate alone at one table in the cafeteria. "What's with you?" she frowned.

He pushed away his empty plate which were once chips. "You are the one with the attitude," he accused.

She looked hurt. "Look, I'm sorry I have an attitude," she apologized. "And I know it's no excuse but I built it up to protect myself and just got used to it," she explained. "I built it up because I find it hard to trust people because they would befriend me just to get to my father."

He could understand her frustration because it personally struck a cord in him. He could relate to her because he felt like he was in the shadow of his _own_ father. He used to be a respected cop and loved by many. He felt shattered when he died when he was sixteen and didn't want anything more than to honor him by becoming a cop himself. However, people expected him to be perfect like he was. Before Jump Street, everyone at headquarters personally knew his dad and would goad and degrade him whenever he messed up. Sometimes he could still hear their insults at the back of his head... even to this day.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I only seen two of your dad's movies and I didn't care for them."

"You are the first person to ever say such thing," she said. "And I'm quite surprised to find that it actually kind of hurts," she laughed.

"Didn't you star in a movie yourself?"

"Just one," she replied. "Some teen chick flick which I've done a few months ago."

"Are you wanting to be an actress then?"

"Maybe when I leave school because it affected my studies," she replied sheepishly.

He nodded then glanced at the window to catch anything unusual. "But once you'll keep doing movies, the paparazzi's will bother you even more," he said, without tearing his eyes away.

"I know," she replied quietly. "But I happen to like acting and I'm interested in movie making in general."

He barely heard her as he focused hard for their guy. He could hear taunts at the back of his head telling him that he's not trying hard enough, that he'll fail as a cop if he doesn't get him.

"Do you see him yet?" she asked.

"Not yet."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXxxx

It greatly bothered him by the fact he hadn't caught the guy yet. When he was first told of the assignment, he thought it was going to be too easy and imagined getting his hands on the paparazzi on the first day at least.

When the last school bell went off, he followed Lily and her group of friends until they got out of the school building. He looked around with eyes like a hawk while Lily her friends chatted and messed about on the sidewalk.

"Hey Tom, would you like to go out shopping with me my friends?" Lily asked out of the blue.

He tore his eyes away from his surroundings and looked at her in surprise.

"Shopping?"

He didn't plan on seeing Lily outside of the assignment and thought it would be weird to shop with a load of teenage girls by his side.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" she begged.

He quickly thought about it and decided, why the hell not. He was still protective of Lily and he also wanted to know what life was like for her outside of school hours, whether there would be a large number of fans and paparazzi's bothering her.

"I just have to give my captain a quick phone call to let him know okay?" he whispered in her ear.

He was supposed to report his daily activities as soon as the day was over at Jump Street. He also had to make sure to call in to let his captain know the reason of his absence - otherwise he would be worried, wondering if anything bad happened.

"Great!" she beamed.

The nearest payphone was two yards away but he didn't too feel happy leaving her in case she got snapped behind his back.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine!" she reasurred him and still beaming.

He was watchful the whole time he got to the payphone and called Fuller. Lily seemed to be fine in the distance. She was still with her friends and she was throwing her head back with joyous laughter.

His captain found it amusing when he told him why he was going to report late.

"Have fun, Hanson!" And he didn't hesitate to let out a chuckle before he hung up.

There was no sign of the paparazzi during the time he went away and made the phone call. Or after that. He was beginning to think that the paparazzi didn't bother her as much than she claimed. But he'll soon know when the pictures come out at the end of the week.

Lily brought her friends Avery, Ruby, Becca and another girl called Sophie into the back of her SUV. They all wedged in and there was just about room for him but Avery was practically sitting on his lap which made him feel uncomfortable.

"Oh jesus christ," he whispered under his breath.

He noticed Lenz smirked at him in the rear-view mirror because they both knew he was far too old for this.

"Where's Jack?" Lenz asked.

"He's gone to visit his friends house and said he won't be back till late," Lily replied.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at their destination which was a shopping centre. Lily explained that it wasn't always safe to walk along the streets for very long because paparazzi's and fans would start bothering her so it was better for Lenz to drive them around most of the time. He also came with them to protect her as well.

He only been to the shopping centre once when he and his team had to go out and buy something to wear at a school prom in one case. It was the biggest, and the only shopping centre in the city so it was always full of energy.

While the girls chatted and giggled, he slowed down to walk beside Lenz.

"How long have you been Lily's bodyguard?" he asked.

"About three years," he replied. "After I quit baseball, I was hired by her dad who I must say, is a really nice guy."

He rose an eyebrow. "He's nice? I thought he would be rude like the majority of film stars."

"No, he's really down to earth and genuine. He has a really good sense of humor too," Lenz replied. "So how long have you been a cop?"

"About five years, including two years undercover."

"That's impressive," he remarked. "Do you like it?"

"Being a cop? Yeah, very much."

"I mean hanging out with teen girls and going shopping after school?" Lenz joked.

"Let's say it pays the bills," he sighed.

To add to his dismay to his current feelings, Lily went and called him. "Hey Tom! Catch up will you?"

He let out a groan then dragged himself over to join the group of girls.

"We decided to give you a makeover," Lily said as soon as he merged with the group. They all giggled.

"I honestly don't need one."

He felt he really didn't because he already had a makeover when he first started at Jump Street and was happy with his clothes.

"But you wore that same old jacket yesterday," Lily chuckled, referring to his brown tattered leather jacket.

"Hey, I happen to like this jacket," he said defensively.

"But you need new clothes."

She took his hand and led him into the nearest clothes store. The store had a mix of men's and women's clothes of all ages and it didn't take long for him to realize it was a high end store.

Lily handed him a pair of jeans which had a price tag of $65 dollars which shocked him. He didn't want to blow his hard earned money for something so small.

He pushed the jeans away. "No way, it's too expensive."

"It's on me."

"You really don't have to."

"Yeah I do. If you're going to be in my school you have to at least dress like everyone else."

She probably had a point but he expected to wrap up the assignment in less than a week. At least he hoped.

"Here, try these on." She tossed him a faded navy sweatshirt and black jeans much to his displeasure.

"No thanks."

But he had no choice as she took his arm and pulled him to the changing rooms herself.

He quickly tried the sweatshirt on and couldn't help but notice another price tag which stated $48. He felt like having a meltdown and had to ask his reflection on the changing room mirror why he was even here.

"You look great!" Ruby commented when he came out of the changing room.

"Hot!" Avery giggled.

He shook his head in disbelief and went back in to change. He was thankful he didn't have to write a detailed report about the horrors of clothes shopping with a bunch of teenage girls. And was sure his captain and his co-workers would be rolling around in laughter if they saw him right now.

Once they finished, Lily paid for about ten items with her credit card. It nearly gave him a heart attack when he saw the total.

"I can't believe you spent all that much on me!"

"It's no big deal," she shrugged.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

In less than two hours of shopping, Lily was stared at and gawped at. She was also stopped sign autographs as well as pose for photographs for a couple of pepple. But it didn't seem like she minded and was in good spirits, which surprised him because he couldn't imagine being in her place without losing it.

Eventually, Lily's friends excused they had to make it home for dinner 'before their parents freak'. But Lily decided to stay longer and they ended up eating together with Lenz at an expensive fast food restaurant in the same shopping centre.

They happily ate a burger meal and fries until a two men dressed in black started hovering outside the window taking pictures.

Lily quickly sheltered one side of her face with her hand. "You better hide too before they'll make a headline out of you!"

While they hid their faces, Lenz went out of the resturant to tell the paparazzis to leave them alone. It worked because the two paparazzis had gone in a flash.

"How did you do that?" he asked Lenz when he came back to the table.

"I threatened to call the cops," Lenz replied with a chuckle. "It works like magic!"

Lily laughed at then looked at him carefully. "Why did you become a cop?"

"My dad," he replied simply. He didn't want to mention the fact his father was dead and open his heart out because it hurt to talk about.

"Are you close?"

"Yeah, we're close," he replied quietly.

"I used to be really close with my dad," she said. "But now he spends a lot of time with Ambitch Turd."

"You what?"

"Amber Heard!" Lenz laughed.

"Yeah, I just call her Ambitch Turd because I hate her," Lily explained. "So does my brother."

"I thought your parents were together?"

"No, they broke up years ago."

"Sorry, I didn't know. My captain didn't mention that to me," he apologized. It wasn't noted in the file of the assignment either. He probably would have known about it if he read gossip magazines. "Is there a reason why you hate her?

"Yeah, it's because she's bossy and she treats my dad like crap."

He felt sad for her because she was obviously unhappy. He knew how she felt because last year, his mom found herself a boyfriend called Bob. They lived together for a while and even talked about marriage. He felt upset and bitter about the whole thing because even if his father passed, he expected her to love no other. Worst yet, Bob was nothing like his father, he was just pudgy old car salesman with a bad haircut. Both of them knew he was unhappy with their relationship so tried to get him to bond with him over a game of bowling. It didn't work and he ended up interrogating him with questions about his character and his intentions. In the end, his mother broke up with him because she discovered 'he was bad in bed'...

"It'll work out one day," he reassured her.

"I'd like to believe that," she said. "But they already got married a few months ago. And... I can't shake off this bad feeling like something bad is going to happen."

"What do you mean?"

"I think Amber is trouble," she answered. "And I'm not the only one who feels the same way."

Her saw Lenz nod slightly in agreement which was enough to throw him over with curiosity. He wanted to know more but they ended up changing the subject.

 **Thanks for reading :)**


	4. Chapter 4

He was called in Fuller's office bright and early to be briefed.

Fuller was just about to talk about the assignment when he suddenly paused and eyed him up.

"Is that a new shirt, Hanson?"

He laughed awkwardly, pulling at the collar of his red plaid shirt. "Lily got it for me yesterday and it costs thirty-five bucks, would you believe it?"

Fuller didn't look happy one bit.

"If I were you, I would return it."

"But she insisted I have it and she's wealthy enough not to care anyway."

Fuller shot him a glare. "I'm not happy with your attitude Hanson!" he scolded. "I'm not happy with these either!"

He pulled out a stack of photos from a brown envelope and slammed them down onto the desk.

His jaw dropped. Each and every one of them were photos of Lily. She was captured in working away in a classroom, in a cafetia, outside with friends on lunch break. Even outside on the sidewalk whilst he made that phone call...

"I don't believe this!" he cried. "I swear I couldn't see the paparazzi when I was there no matter how hard I tried."

Fuller picked out a few photos and flashed them under his nose. "I don't see you looking out for anyone - do you?"

He was right, the images showed him talking to Lily, oblivious to being photographed. But he couldn't always keep looking around all the time.

"They don't prove anything because I know I was doing my job properly. All I was doing, was talking to the girl; is that really crime?"

Fuller sighed. "Alright, but make sure to check your surroundings more often than not."

"How did you get the photos anyway?"

"We have a connection with a magazine company where the paparazzi sends his photos anonymously."

His heart missed a beat. _A magazine?_

"Have they been published?" he asked cautiously.

"Not yet," Fuller replied. "We made an agreement with the company to restrain from releasing the photos to protect you during investigation"

"That's a relief!"

"But you have to speed up Hanson because the company won't hold back for very long because they have sales targets to reach."

His shoulders sank. Being in a magazine for the world to see was his worst nightmare! He didn't expect so much pressure from what he thought was a little, harmless assignment.

"There's something different about you but I don't know what," said Doug as soon as he left the office. "Did you get a haircut?

"No," he laughed.

Doug studied him once more then gave up.

"Maybe I hadn't seen you in ages," he said with a pout.

They known each other for almost two years at Jump Street. At first, they disliked each other because they were so different from each other. But over time they become close. They knew everything about each other, including their deep, dark secrets. They also brought out the worst and the best in each other. And without Doug, he probably would've struggled fitting in at Jump Street.

"How's the case going?" his best friend asked.

"Not good," he admitted. "I still can't catch this guy."

Suddenly, Judy bounced over to them, cutting in their conversation and looking alarmingly bubbly. "Any news about the girls father yet?"

"No Jude!" he replied irritebly.

He couldn't help but feel annoyed because Judy kept asking about Lily's father at least three times a day. He knew some things here and there but didn't want to betray the girl by feeding Judy's fanatasies.

Her bubbles popped away into sadness. "Oh come on, why won't you tell me anything!"

He couldn't stand seeing that sad face of hers so he tried to comfort her. "Jude... forget about falling for film stars because there's plenty of other guys out there lining at your feet. And you know why? Because you're a beautiful woman."

Doug threw an arm round her shoulders and gave her a wink. "I'm one those guys in line...so pick fast."

Judy laughed uncomfortably before shrugging out of Doug's hold. "Thank you for your kind words and everything but I have preferences."

Doug reacted as though he had been punched in the stomach. "That hurts Jude!"

He talked a bit more with his co-workers until he had to leave to be on time for school. He went through the motions of the day without forgetting to comply with Fuller's orders to try harder. But trying harder ended up making him disconnected from everything and it didn't take long for Lily to notice. When the clock rolled onto lunchtime, she found a spot outside of school and pulled him aside.

"What's with you? I take you out shopping yesterday and you've barely said a word to me all morning."

"Sorry, it's just my captain got mad at me this morning," he apologized. "He thinks I'm not trying hard enough and needs to put this assignment up to speed."

He thought his honesty paid up because she looked calmer and almost relieved.

"So I'm sorry that I'm not going to give you my undevided attention today or any other day or whenever the hell I'm going to catch this guy."

Worry creased upon Lily's face. "What made him mad at you this morning?"

"He told me photos of you were still been snapped this week."

She didn't look at least bit surprised but looked disappointed.

"Don't worry about it because I'll catch this guy eventually, okay?"

"Okay," she replied quietly.

"And lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for taking me out shopping yesterday," he smiled

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Even though he tried harder to find the paparazzi that day, he still had no luck. He even wandered off to check all the hiding spots several times. He ended up feeling miserable and wasn't looking forward to reporting to his captain. So when Lily asked him if he wanted to visit her house after school, he held no hesitations. He gave up fighting and let loose. And besides, he began to like hanging out with the girl.

Her home stood on the outskirts of the city in the center of the woods. It had pastel green paint and long strings of ivy all over the walls. There was also a balcony up top with flower pots laid neatly in a row. It reminded him of one of those fairy tale picture books because it looked almost perfect.

He could also describe it as peaceful compared to their second life which was filled with glitz, glamour and fame.

The interior had a mix of a modern and traditional feel to it which he also liked. The floors and doors had the same matching color was was polished like new.

Lily told him she had a second home owned by her father; a castle once owned by Bela Lugosi who was known for playing dracula in the golden era of screen horror. _Like all fairy tales, they have a dark side._

He followed her to the kitchen and was introduced to her mother named Vanessa who was in the middle of cooking dinner. She also had shoulder length blond hair and had a small frame like Lily. But the two major differences was the fact she had bewitching green eyes and a gap toothed smile.

"Hi, I'm Tom Hanson."

"Nice to meet you," she greeted in return. "Lily told me all about you."

"Mom!" Lily cried in embarrassment.

She ignored her and continued. "I'm glad she has you to protect her. We've been trying to protect her ever since she opened her eyes into this life."

She lovingly put her arms around Lily and pulled her close. Lily didn't mind and hugged her back.

"I just find it hard to see my little girl grow up into this."

"I can imagine."

After he talked with her mother over a cup of black coffee, Lily showed him around the house and ended up in her bedroom at the end of the tour.

Her room had a line of multicolored fairy lights lit along the walls. There was also hundreds of photos of her and her friends pinned on the walls, including pictures of her whole family when they were together.

She flew herself onto her bed and got comfortable. He stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do with himself. He couldn't help but feel wrong being in a room with a minor.

She patted an empty space on the bed. "Sit down, I won't bite," she teased.

He cautiously sat down on the bed a few inches away from her and concentrated his eyes on the snapshots of her personal life.

"Look, I'm sorry you're getting stressed over this," she began.

He looked at her in surprise. "No I'm not."

"You are. And I feel stressed with it too. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be born without fame. Just have people not know your name and who you are."

"It's not that special," he replied. "You'll just be lonely."

"Do you get lonely?"

He laughed uncomfortably because it was such a personal question. "I guess. There's no time to socialize out of work but I'm good friends with my co-workers, including this hilarious guy called Doug - whose my best friend."

She smiled. "I'm your friend too, right?"

"Sure," he shrugged. He didn't want to hurt her feelings by saying the opposite. But when he thought about it, she could as well be a friend despite her age because they connected on some personal level. They both knew how it felt being in the shadows of their fathers even though they loved them.

Unfortunately, there were no promises because he broke them every time. In every case or assignment, he forgot about the kids once they were over and done with. And this one would be no different.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! be sure to read the author's note at the end of the chapter - it's a warning ;)**

Bright, multicoloured lights continously flashed into his eyes whilst loud thumping music drummed his ears. He could smell hot dogs and candy floss which should've smelled pleasant if he hadn't been lingering around it for god knows how long.

"Having fun?" Lily asked.

"Not really."

"That's because you're just standing there and not doing anything," Lily laughed cheekily. "Come on, there's plenty of rides to go on."

Since Lily was good at persuading, she managed to drag him out to an annual fair along with her friends. But not persuading enough to make him go on the rides because he was too reluctunt and disinterested to go on them. Mainly because he felt too old for it. But no eyes looking back at him could understand that because he still looked like a teenager.

"No thanks."

Lily didn't give up. She continued going on the rides with her friends and would swiftly spring back by his side in no time.

"I feel like you've never been to an annual fair before," she said.

"That's because I was stuck at home doing my homework."

She looked at him with slight incredulity. "You can be serious?"

He smiled and didn't say anything, leaving her the opportunity to make up her own mind.

"Now you're just making me feel sorry for you."

Before he knew what was happening, she asked for two ice-creams from a passing stall. Because had no time to protest, he ended up getting an ice cream topped springles.

"Enjoy!"

"Lily!" he whined. "Don't you understand the meaning of no?"

"I'm only helping you to loosen up."

He heard that before. When he first started out at Jump Street, his co-workers had the same mission. They managed to loosen him here and there but never enough to lose his identity. He had always been serious and responsible; It was just the way he was.

He ended up having the ice-cream anyway because it began to dribble on his hands but he had no other complaints because it tasted good.

After they finished their ice-creams, Lily's brother Jack strolled over to them. He wore black jeans and a blue and white striped shirt. Instead of turning his attention on his sister, he turned his attention on him instead.

"Have you brought your gun?" Jack asked him.

"No, I don't think I need to shoot anybody at an annual fair," he humoured.

You could call it slightly disturbing how much Jack was interested in guns but then again, he used to have the same burning curiosity when he was his age, mainly because his father was a cop.

"You could," Jack said plainly. He pointed over to the crowds directly to some guy standing there holding balloons and dressed as a clown in full clown make up. "You can shoot that ugly looking thing right over there," he quipped.

"Are you referring to your crush Jack?" Lily teased.

"Hey!" Jack glowered, as well as crimsoned.

He smiled. Even though the siblings tend to bicker with each other, he could tell they were close.

"What is the coolest thing you ever done as a cop?" Jack asked next. "And don't tell me the lamest one because we both know the answer to that already," he said without forgetting to aim his eyes towards his sister.

"The coolest..?" he questioned thoughfully. "Maybe when I had to stop this guy from putting anyone in danger. He stole a police car and drove around trying to shoot my partners. He was driving towards me when I blew his front tire with a shotgun. Then he hit this car at such an angle, it flipped over right over my head."

"Cool!" Jack cried.

"Nah, I don't believe you," Lily miffed.

He tried not to feel offended. "It's true. You just don't believe me because you've never seen me in action."

"But I don't get it, you can blow somebody's tire with a shotgun but you won't go on a rollercoaster?" she perplexed.

"That's because I would do anything, if it means justice."

She took his arm and tried to drag him towards the rides. "Come on, why don't you forget about your job for once and have fun?"

She found it hard to move him away from his spot because of his reluctance so she asked Jack for help. He ended up having two kids try and drag him towards a bumper car ride and have shot. It was enough to remind him the reason why he didn't want kids!

"Did you have fun?" Lily asked after an hour of bumper cars, waltzers and rollercoasters.

He did actually. He liked the thrill of it all and stopped to wonder how much he really missed as a kid. He loved his parents but they were strict back then. He did anything to please them, even if it meant skipping the state fair with his friends to do his homework.

"Well...maybe a little," he replied. She gave him a poke to make him squeeze out the truth. "Okay, a lot," he grinned.

She smiled and her eyes seemed to glitter. Or maybe it was the the flashing lights from the rides. But they glittered

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next few days was tough. He still hadn't caught the guy even though he began to spot him here and there. He even excused to leave a lesson once because he caught lenses peeking through a bush in the distance. It was like playing a game of cat and mouse because everytime he tried to get close to him, he would run or disappear in thin air.

Fuller just got madder and madder as the days went on and ended up adding Doug on the assignment. His role was to hang outside of school for a better chance in finding the guy.

He was glad to have him but he couldn't help but feel like a failure because he should be handling the whole thing himself.

He hung around with Doug one lunch time whilst Lily was with her friends over at the benches. They were standing in a hot spot where most shots were taken which was in the distance, behind the trees. He made use of his second pair of eyes whilst chatting to Doug. He talked about what he knew about Lily, her home life and the fact her parents are separated.

"Don't tell Judy any of this stuff though."

"Believe me, I wouldn't," Doug reassured him. "Judy's been an absolute nightmare."

They carried on talking about things unreleated to the case until he cut of mid-sentence after Doug's stomach let out rumble.

"Did you not bring your lunch with you again?"

"I had a few slices of pizza before lunch but I guess I'm still hungry," his friend replied sheepishly.

"That doesn't surprise me Doug because you are always hungry," he joked.

He glanced at his wrist-watch and saw lunchtime hour had now halved. He began to feel hungry himself so he felt like heading back to and finish up his lunch.

"You can go and have the rest of that pizza if you want because I don't think we're going to capture this guy," he told Doug.

"Great, because I'm getting bored as hell out here!"

When he returned, he discovered Lily was no longer there. It didn't worry him until he casually asked her friends where she was. They answered that they didn't know or even saw her leave. He thought she probably hadn't gone too far so he walked a bit around the school grounds looking for her. As the minutes ticked on, he felt worry creep up on him, a worry telling him the paparazzi kidnapped her. He tried to push the thought back in his mind as much as he could because he knew it was too far fetched. He had never heard a famous person to be ever kidnapped, especially by a paparazzi.

 _But there's always the first time_.

Fortunately he found Lily before he resorted into full-fledged worry. She was walking back to the direction of her friends looking relaxed and happy.

"Where were you?" he asked her with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I was beginning to worry about you."

"I just went to the bathroom!" she laughed. "You're getting a bit too overprotective of me aren't you?"

She couldn't be further from the truth. If anything bad happened her, he'll be shot down by Fuller, the departments, Internal Affairs, the media, and two very angry parents. He also cared about her - a lot.

"I can't let anything bad happen to you."

Without warning, she threw her arms around his waist and pulled him close. She was so close, her hair tickled his face.

He let out an unfortable laugh. "What are you doing?"

"I'm giving you a hug silly!"

His discomfort grew because she was still clinging onto him and he had a feeling they were being watched. He knew it wasn't wise for such close contact in case the paparazzi snapped a picture of them so he gently peeled off her grip and put her hands back to her sides.

"People would take this the wrong way."

Her jaw dropped slightly. "I'm really sorry," she apologised. "For a second there, I felt normal for once and totally forgot the world is watching me."

Her words didn't make him feel any better at all because she was talking as though her head was in the clouds. There was no denying they bonded rather quickly and she kept asking to see almost every day after school. Yesterday was at a coffee shop and the other day she persuaded him to go bowling with her. Even her friends kept asking them if they were dating. He would deny it every time and fibbed that he was currently in a long distance relationship with some other girl. He used that same old lie in his other cases whenever he had girls asking about his love life. It usually worked, but not for Lily's friends. When they weren't asking, they teased instead. What bothered him even more, is that Lily didn't seem fazed by it.

"Tell me honestly, do you have any feelings for me?"

"Oh don't flatter yourself!" she laughed. "I hug all my friends and that happened in the spur of the moment!"

His mind whirled with increasing doubt. "Then why did you ask me to pretend to be your boyfriend the first day I met you?"

"It was just a joke!" she insisted. "I told you I was only joking straight after I said that, remember?"

He saw she looked upset as well as offended which filled him with regret. "Sorry, I must be going crazy or something."

The school bell rang suddenly, notifying lunchtime was over.

Lily ignored it and gave her reply. "What you are, is paranoid," she said bitterly. "I get that a lot myself but then again, I think you already know that."

"I'm sorry."

"Just forget it," she frowned. "I'm going to be late."

He felt bad and hated to think he messed up their friendship. When she was about to turn her heel to walk off, he gently took hold of her shoulders. "Don't be mad at me, okay? I'm sorry."

Her expression softened and she relaxed. "Okay... your forgiven. Just as long as you don't pull out that crap on me again."

"Okay, I promise. Friends?"

Her teeth shown brightly. "Yes, friends," she replied. "Now we better get going because we're late already."

He didn't move. And he didn't care if anyone was watching them so he gave her a quick hug in a way to heal up the damage between them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

 **Authors note: Starting to get a little romantic isn't it?**

 **I didn't intend it to be creepy.**

 **I don't think about Johnny Depp when I write about Tom Hanson. They are completely different people personality wise. The real Johnny in the story is working in London. So relax, there was no intention to make a creepy father and daughter story.**


	6. Chapter 6

He tossed and turned in bed that night until the bed covers over him gave up and slid off the bed. He was plagued with worries and fears which denied all hope of drifting off to sleep. Eventually, like his covers, he gave up trying. He knew he needed someone to talk to and he knew who that person would be.

Rain poured down heavily from the starless night. But didn't put him off from going. He drove down the streets in his mustang while crackling music played from his un-tuned radio.

Rain hadn't ceased by time he reached his destination and while he was pounding knocks at the door, it was shooting down on him.

Doug answered the door. He was wearing an oversized shirt with black boxers. His hair was tousled and he looking half-asleep and very annoyed.

"What are you doing here?" Doug frowned.

"I need to talk to someone."

"What time is it?"

He looked at his watch and saw it was almost three in the morning. Doug didn't look too happy when he told him the time but let him in anyway because the rain was beginning to soak him through.

Doug's apartment was no longer disorderly like it was once before since Dorothy moved in. But still, there was no denying it still shone his friend's personality. He still had his huge inflatable dinosaur, football table, pinball machine and mini fridge which was stocked with beer.

 _"Who is it?"_ Doug's girlfriend, Dorothy called from another room. She sounded undoubtedtly annoyed as well.

"Just Tom!" Doug called back.

After not another word from Dorothy, Doug rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat on the three seater couch.

He sat on the remaining space beside him. "I'm sorry I bothered you so late. I just I couldn't sleep and I needed to talk to someone. Like, really talk."

Doug looked tense for some reason. "Remember when you broke into my apartment at four in the morning and I almost shot you?"

"I didn't break in, I used your spare key..."

" - And after that you told me you needed to 'talk like really talk'?"

He knew what Doug was getting at. It was a sense of Deja Vu. Everything Doug mentioned happened before all except the content of 'the talk'.

Back then, about a year ago, he worked on a drug case in a high school when a girl named Diane Nelson offered him money and asked him to kill her father. It left him stunned and he didn't know what to do. He didn't turn down the offer nor did he report it to his captain. What he did do, was confide in Doug about it. He wasn't too happy by the fact he didn't report it and said he was now implicated in his mess. In the end, he told Fuller and got told off for holding back a felony. But there was something more to the story... he found out the girl wanted her father, who was a cop, dead because he sexually molested her for years. He brought out the case and her father was charged. The girl was now happy because she didn't have to worry about her sister being abused as well when she leaves for college.

He saw the dark humor out of it and couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry Doug, Lily isn't going to ask me to kill her father."

Doug let out a sigh of relief. "Well, thank christ for that!" But he didn't look happy for long. "Then waking me up at almost three in the morning, ruining a perfectly good nights sleep, with a peed off girlfriend and soaking up my couch, this better be good!"

"It's about the assignment..." he began.

He saw Doug tried to be patient but it was running short.

"It's beginning to stress me out and I can't help it but take it personally when Fuller gets mad at me."

Doug's eyebrows creased in sympathy. "It's not even you he gets mad at. He gets a lot of pressure from the departments and Eternal Affairs who as we know, can be demanding."

"The magazine company too," he added. "They are not promising to continue with the agreement because their sales targets hadn't been good lately."

He held in his breath and let it out. He was tense because it was one of his greatest fears and worries.

"I'm afraid they are going to write some bullshit story about me being an undercover cop and falling in love with her."

Doug's eyes grew wide. "Tom, that's terrible!" he cried. "But why do you think they are going to write that?"

"Because I've been spending a lot of time hanging out with the girl, shopping, eating out and going bowling."

"But that's not going to be much of a story because you never kissed her or anything."

He nibbled his bottom lip.

Doug looked at him carefully. "Tom...?" He sounded uneasy. "You didn't kiss her did you?"

"No," he replied. "I hugged her today, that's all. But I had a bad feeling we were being snapped."

"Don't worry about it, Tom," Doug soothed. "If they do think about printing a story, Fuller would just sue them."

"I suppose so... but if they do, it'll create a mess so big, I'll end up getting fired."

They carried on talking until Dorothy walked in and told them to stop nattering and go to bed. She wouldn't let him on the pre-soaked couch either so he returned home. By time he got in his own bed, he finally welcomed sleep in open arms.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

He must have downed about four black coffees before school that morning because the school didn't serve any. It was always a struggle to get his caffeine fix when working undercover in high schools which was frustrating.

Rain hadn't ceased since last night and was still pouring down all morning. At lunch, all the kids huddled together in the cafeteria to keep dry. There was barely any room so Lily and her friends grabbed lunch to takeaway and ate it in the library instead.

Lily was quiet all morning. He hoped it wasn't directed at him because of the other day. She didn't talk to her friends either and was sitting alone facing the window.

"What's with her?" he asked Ruby.

"She's worrying about something at home," she whispered.

He was relieved it wasn't about him after all but worried all the same. He found her silently eating her sandwich while watching the rain pour down outside. It was raining so much, it was streaming down the windows. It made him feel peaceful and it wasn't only because the paparazzi most likely packed up and gone home.

"What's wrong?" he asked her and took a seat beside her. "Ruby said something was bothering you at home or something?"

"Typical Ruby," she mumbled. "It's just... my dad wants me and my brother to visit him down in London. But I'm not sure I want to because I don't want to see that Ambitch Turd again," she said sadly. "Don't get me wrong, I love my dad but ever since he first laid eyes on her, things had been different."

He nodded with understanding. He remembered she mentioned 'Amber Heard' when they ate with Lenz in a fast food restaurant once. _"I still can't shake off this bad feeling like something bad is going to happen."_ He remembered her say. _"I think Amber is trouble and I'm not the only one who feels the same way."_ And _. "She's bossy and she treats my dad like crap."_

"If she's giving him hell then I think he needs you more than anything," he told her. "So you should go."

He saw her hesitate so he carried on persuading her.

"I know you two have a great bond from the things you say about him and you mustn't break that because you never know when they'll be snatched out of your life in an instant..." His words trailed off as his heart filled with sadness.

Her eyebrows drew together in a mix of surprise and confusion. "You don't even like my dad so why are getting so upset about it?"

"I do sort of like him now. It's just..." He nibbled his lip in anticipation of admitting the truth. "My dad died when I was your age."

Her expression twisted with sympathy. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay... I've got his 1968 mustang, his line of work, his love of bowling but I just wish he was there to share it with me you know?"

"I'm sorry you lost him... and you're right. I can't imagine life without mine," she said. "You know, I used to have hundreds of barbie dolls when I was little and whenever I played with them, he would butt in and give them silly voices. It was annoying back then but when I think about it now, I can't help but smile."

After her last word, she indeed smiled.

"When are you going?"

"By the end of the week at least," she replied.

 _It was in four days time._

"- And I could be staying as long as two weeks."

His eyebrows rose and it wasn't a good thing because he was supposed to wrap up the case by then. He wanted her to resolve family matters but it was now a race against time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Damn, I'm sorry but this is the last chapter - don't shoot me ;) I just couldn't find anything else to explore.**

"Do you know anything about Amber Heard?" He asked Judy after he gave in his report at the office.

"Who?" She asked, without tearing her eyes away as she made herself a cup of coffee.

"Never mind."

She stopped him. "Wait, a minute, she's married to Johnny right?" A Cheshire cat grin spread across her face. "You're _finally_ interested in his personal life, aren't you?"

"Only to help Lily," he frowned.

"Why, what does she need help with?" She placed down her mug of coffee down and waited for his reply with great interest.

"She tells me she doesn't like her and I want to know why. I'd like to grasp her character and see how I feel about her."

"Well, I can't tell you much except she's about half of Johnny's age and done a couple of movies as well," she replied. "But I can dig up some stuff for you if you like."

He knew she couldn't get to Amber's personal files because it was hard to request personal files without permission - unless it was absolutely necessary.

"What have you got?" he questioned.

"I've got a couple of magazines stashed at home and plenty of films with Johnny at home to watch and drool over..."

"Jude."

"Sorry," she laughed from her lack of control. "I'll give it to you tomorrow morning."

"Good - and no movies Jude, okay?"

"But I've one movie I got which has Johnny and Amber together. That would be helpful to you wouldn't it?"

"No, I don't have time to watch any movies."

It was a lie. He had plenty of time to kill in the center of his empty apartment. But he often resulted to disconnecting from his surroundings and thought about his work instead. Especially nowadays.

True to her word, Judy gave him a box of magazines and dumped it in his arms that morning. He leafed through them and discovered two video tapes sitting on the bottom. It was some movie called the _Rum Diary_ while the other was _What's eating Gilbert Grape_. He thought they were two, very weird titles and wasn't keen on seeing them at all. He wondered why Judy even bothered. It was like she had a mission to make him into a fan.

"Why don't you put a gun to my head next?" he cried.

"Oh, stop exaggerating Hanson!" Judy laughed.

He set down the box upon his desk and flipped through the magazines. Only two of them had Amber in it. (Surprise surprise, it was part of Judy's mission) In the photos, she looked drop dead gorgeous. She had platinum blonde locks framing her porcelain face with a signature swipe of red lipstick. In an interview she spoke a lot about her looks being an inconvenience and holds her back from being a bigger star. He could relate to that because his looks held him back from being a 'real cop', ones where they get out on the streets and make a bust rather than walking through the school halls stealing kid's lunch money. But there was some kind of vibe seeping from her words that didn't feel right. She seemed conceited and overbearing...

"Take a load of that!"

He snapped out of his concentration and realized Doug had his head hidden behind one of the magazines and was gawping at something. He rolled up the magazine in his hands and swung it directly behind Doug's head.

"Ow!" Doug cried. "Why did you do that for?" he glowered.

"You should be getting on with your work."

"So should you."

"I'm researching!"

"Whatever..." Doug frowned.

He snatched the magazine out of Doug's hands and put the rest of the magazines back in the box. He didn't plan on hanging onto it so he returned it to Judy. Along with the movies much to her displeasure.

"Can you spend more hours on the school grounds today?" he asked Doug. "Because my time is running out. I need to wrap up the assignment within four days."

"Okay... but I'm not doing it for you. I'm only going to do it because it's my job and I have to," he mumbled.

He smirked because knew Doug was still annoyed at him over the magazine dispute. "I love you too, Doug," he teased.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You were right about Amber," he whispered to Lily before the first lesson of the day began. "I read one interview from a magazine which Judy gave me. And boy, she sounds like a nightmare.

Lily giggled in reply but quickly consoled herself when the their English teacher, Mrs Thomason told everyone to be quiet.

"I want you all to hand in last week's homework please!" she called out.

Suddenly, chairs scraped back and papers rustled from the commotion of retrieving their homework from their bags. All but one classmate...him. He remembered he left his homework in the car that morning. Fortunately, he squeezed some time in to complete it because he knew he would still get a detention like everybody else.

But still, it was stupid and he was sure the real sixteen year old Tom Hanson would be shaking his head at him right now.

He watched with dread as the teacher passed by every desk to collect the papers.

"Where's yours?" Lily whispered.

She rolled his eyes when he told her it was sitting on his car seat.

The teacher passed down his desk and caught him empty handed - literally!

"Where's your homework?"

"I left it in my car."

She always seemed to have a scowl on her face and it was now deepening than ever before. "Is it completed at least? Because if not, I would have to give you detention and lower your grade."

"I _have_ completed it. It's just in my car," he replied. "So is it alright if I go get it?"

She sighed before retrieving a hall pass from her desk drawer.

"Now quickly, before I change my mind!" she hissed, ushering him to the door.

He made his way down the vacant halls of the school while feeling dejected. Not only only he was failing the assignment, but his school work as well. Forgetting his homework was little compared to the number of times he got told off for not completing his work in class. The teachers accused him of being 'too distracted' and even lazy.

If only they knew it his job to stare out of the damn windows.

He hurried to his car and whipped the papers off his car seat. He tried to get back as fast as he could but was stopped into a sudden halt in a double take.

He saw a dark figure moving slightly behind some bushes. His heart leapt. He had to blink his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining it because it was too good to be true.

But he knew he had to compose himself to slowly but surely get the guy. He dropped his papers down then ambled his way towards the figure.

As he drew closer, he saw a man was kneeling down on the grass with his back on him. He seemed to be setting up his camera because there were about five different lenses on the ground.

He was so close... He didn't want to lose him again so he pulled out a gun from his jacket and aimed it at his back.

"Don't move," he commanded.

The man spun around in alarm and almost comically fell back on his butt. Once the man regained balance, he noticed he was unshaven with tousled hair and looked like he was in his forties.

He couldn't believe he couldn't catch a man twice his age! Either his running skills sucked or the guy was too slick for his moves.

"If you think about running off again, I'll blow a hole in your head."

The man's eyes filled panic and was almost hyperventilating.

"I'm a police officer," he told the man before he could have a full-blown heart attack. "I've been sent undercover to stop you from trespassing and taking photos of Lily Rose Depp on the school premises without lawful authority."

The man's opened and closed his mouth in speechlessness. "But...But... I don't think you understand," he said. "It's my job and I need the money."

"After all those pictures you sold, I doubt you do," he scowled. "She's too young for this so why don't you leave her alone?"

The man scrambled up on his feet looking furious. "Because the public loves her! She has lots of fans and people are talking about her becoming the next it girl!"

He was glad he had his gun because the man sure had a loose screw.

"I don't care!" he snapped at him. "If you want to take pictures, take it somewhere else off the school property!"

"What if I don't?" the man asked smugly.

"I'll arrest you anyway and stick you in a cell over at my unit and keep you there for days until you get the message."

It wasn't just a scare tactic, because there was in fact a holding cell in the chapel and he was sure Fuller would let him put it to good use. But first things first, he needed a name. He knew the man would be too slick to give it to him so he took it in his own hands by swiping his wallet from his back pocket.

He was slick enough himself because he took the man by surprise. "What the hell are you doing?"

He disregarded him and kept his gun on him while he had a quick look through his cards inside his wallet. "Jason Wiltshire... I now know your address and where you live so you better think twice before taking secret snapshots of Lily on the school premises."

That was enough for the color to fade from Jason's face and he finally gave in, promising to only take pictures of Lily off the school premises. It felt wrong letting the man go and wished there was a law against paparazzi's. But he didn't heed to give his final warning just to show he was serious.

"If I see secret snapshots of the girl again, I will hunt you down and I will trash that camera of yours, you got that?"

"Yes sir," Jason replied quietly before turning to leave with his camera hanging by his side.

He watched him as he walked on and on until he was out of sight. He detested the man for creating so much mess because it wasn't completely done with. He still feared the magazine company would tarnish his reputation.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He didn't want to leave Lily, but he had to. He couldn't return to school otherwise the English teacher would probably throttle him after his disappearing act!

He drove back to the chapel and gave Fuller an update.

"I think I scared the paparazzi off and I'm pretty sure he won't be bothering her at school anymore but we have this whole other problem; how do we know that magazine company isn't going to use the photos they are currently holding onto?"

"I'm sure they wouldn't Hanson," Fuller reassured him. "And even if they do, they would be in a whole lot of trouble for it."

"I spent a lot of time with her..."

"I know that and I didn't like it," Fuller admitted. "But ever since I've been your captain, I've noticed you tend to get emotionally involved with kids in your work and I admire that. It makes you a good undercover cop, Hanson."

Fuller was right. He thought Lily was a nightmare to begin until her layers fell away to reveal a vulnerable little girl. A girl who was born exposed to the world while struggling to cope with her personal and public life.

He drove back to the school at lunchtime and found her sitting on the wall by the school car park. Her face lit up when she saw him but it slowly faded away after he told her the assignment had finished because he caught the paparazzi.

"I'm glad you caught him and everything but I'll miss you," Lily said softly.

"I'll miss you too," he smiled. "And if you ever need anything or if this paparazzi bothers you again, don't hesitate to contact me, okay?" he said then handed her a business card.

She accepted it with good grace then threw her arms around him for a hug. He didn't restrain from her hold, neither did he have negative thoughts in his head.

Because it was over.

"Are you ready for London?" he asked before they both pulled away.

"Sure," she replied with a smile. "Even though life can be so crazy, at least I'm lucky enough to have two loving parents and the best brother ever. Even if they have separated and even if they are working four thousand miles away."

"And... even if I have an evil stepmother by the name of Ambitch Turd who tried to ruin it all," she said with a smirk. "But I'll deal with her."

He knew she would be okay.

And he was right.

About three months later, he finished up a quick top up shop in a convenience store and waited for his items to be totalled. He browsed the rack of magazines with his eyes when it blinked twice.

A pair of brown doe eyes stared back at him.

She froze when she saw him.

He didn't expect her to say anything... because she was just a picture on a magazine cover.

He knew then, how lucky to have met this girl and looked forward to seeing her work in the upcoming future.

"That'll be $8.95," the lady at the counter said.

But he barely heard her as the words left his head and escaped through his lips. "I know that girl..."

 **And there you go :) sorry it ended so soon and didn't turn out how you hoped - BUT I hope you enjoyed!**

 **There is a second part to this story actually but it isn't finished. I could post it but not sure it would be something you like to read ... it'll be about the Johnny/Amber mess (it was awful...so I couldn't help but write it down) while exploring Tom and Lily's relationship.**


	8. PART TWO

**Okay, this one is a toughie because I wrote some really uncomfortable stuff. Read below and you'll find out what I mean ;)**

Things changed a lot in one year. His apartment was no longer empty because he now he had someone to share it with. She was named Jackie and worked at another department. She had naturally curly, blond hair and behind her thick black frames, she had the most beautiful green eyes.

It all began when Doug hooked him up with her for a double date but it didn't go well. He thought she was a total bitch because she crititized about how he handled one of his old cases. He didn't want to see her again until he accidentally bumped into her at a bowling alley. She was having a bad date and wanted to escape as quickly as possible so he helped her by pretending to be her husband with kids. The shocked expression on the guy's face was priceless! They got talking and he found her to be pretty cool. On their third date, he fell over his heels in love.

There was also a new member in the Jump Street team named Dennis Booker who had distracting caterpillar eyebrows. He often wore all black and had a laid-back attitude. He hated him since he first joined Jump Street - and hated him because he enjoyed pressing his buttons and driving him up the wall for some reason.

And Doug was still with Dorothy and kept forgetting to shave...probably because she kept driving him up the wall too.

"But Dorothy, I don't want to go to the stupid cookery class!" Doug argued over the phone.

The corner of his lips upturned into a smirk. They had been arguing about this for the last two days. From what he grasped from the conversation, Dorothy thought it would be a good idea for Doug to attend cooking classes because she was tired of cooking for him. The trouble was, Doug didn't cook and for a reason...because he couldn't cook at all.

He tried to listen to the rest of the conversation but his phone suddenly rang.

"Hanson," he asnwered.

 _"Tom...?"_

He thought the voice sounded sweet and timid and very young...

 _"It's Lily Rose."_

It took him by surprise. Lily Rose Depp? After hearing her name, all the memories of the year-old assignment came flooding back. He almost forgot about the assignment and the girl without meaning to because her faced much bigger challenges over the next few months which took up his head space. She never called him either which was a good thing because it meant the paparazzi must've stopped bothering her. But why she calling now, a year later, he didn't know.

"Lily?" he almost gasped.

 _"I don't know if you've seen the papers."_

He frowned in confusion. He didn't know what she was talking about.

"No?"

He was sure he heard a sniffle on the other side. _"Amber accused my dad of domestic violence."_

He was shocked and wondered if he heard her right.

 _"But it's a lie! She just made it up!"_ she cried.

It sounded awful and Lily's fears back then was confirmed. 'Ambitch Turd' really became one.

"But everyone knows she's lying right?"

 _"No... she was granted a restraining order by the judge. She said he hit her in the face with a phone and there's pictures in the papers showing bruises around her eye."_

He was speechless. He didn't know what to say to her except if she had bruises and a judge was on her side then he must have done it.

 _"But it's a lie because cops were called at their home but didn't see anything and they didn't see any bruises either,"_ she babbled incohently.

He was stumped because he didn't know what to believe. He felt he had to go out to check out the papers to get the facts rather than listening to a distraut and possibly confused girl.

"Where are you Lily?"

 _"I'm at home with my mom."_ She answered. _"Listen, I'm sorry for throwing this at you. It's just I didn't know who else to call."_

After she spoke at bit more and gave him her number, he hang up and placed the phone back into the cradle. He sat for a few minutes, allowing his brain to make sense of it all. He didn't know who to believe, a concieted, overbearing woman who had enough proof for a restraining order - or a loving father who had been described as a 'nice' guy.

The problem, he went by the facts. If a woman was granted a restaining order by the judge, then that guy would be obviously guilty. But then again, Lily told him she's lying and said cops came to the home but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh. It was mess.

He left the chapel, excusing that he had to run on a 'little errand'.

As soon as he saw the papers flashing similar headlines in a newsagents, he cringed. It showed pictures of Amber wearing a black dress. Her hair was lanky and she had down-cast eyes. On her left eye, was a bruise. .

Once he brought the paper, he tucked in and read all the facts. She filed for divorce two days after Johnny's mother died and accused him of domestic violence on May 27... Lily's birthday. In the article, she claimed he was obsessing over something that wasn't true, got angry and threw a phone at her face.

There was no mention of the cops coming to the home and denying abuse like Lily mentioned leaving him siding with Amber. He didn't want to believe her, but newspapers were almost never wrong.

He ended up not calling Lily back because he knew calling her back and sharing his opinion would hurt her even more.

"Jude... what do you think of this?"

Judy retrieved the newspaper from him and had a look. "No way!" she cried. He watched her expression become sadder as she read on. "He's guilty, isn't he?"

"It seems that way Jude," he replied. "There's going to be a court date next month."

"I can't help but believe her because I read before that he has a temper," Judy said. "He assulted some guy and trashed a hotel room once."

He tried to get on his work and take his mind off it but he couldn't stop the calls from coming and one of them ended up being Lily.

 _"What do you think?"_ she asked.

He wished she hadn't asked him that dreaded question. "I don't know Lily..."

He was lying. He did know. He thought her father was guilty.

 _"She's doing this for money, Tom. My dad has millions and he told me she threatened to blackmail him if he didn't agree to her financial terms. And now she has."_

That was interesting... But he still needed facts printed and pasted for him to believe.

 _"Can't you do anything?"_ Lily cried through the silence.

"I'm sorry Lily I can't... because I can't just roll up my sleeves and jump into things without permission and autorisation from the departments. All I am, is an undercover cop and I only do what my captain asks me to."

He heard a heartbreaking sniffle on the other line which made him feel like a shit.

"I don't mean to sound uncaring but the reality is, all I can do is be there and listen to you during your difficult time."

Suddely there was a click and the line went dead.

And it stayed dead while helplessly watched Lily's personal life turn upside down. News headlines broke almost every week with details about the abuse 'that went on for years.' She shared horrifying details about him trying to suffocate her with a pillow and pulled chunks out of her hair. The headlines wasn't stopping and he ended up avoiding them because he hated that there was nothing he could do to help.

He tried not to feel bad because he knew she was in good hands. She had loving friends and family so he tried to push it out of his mind and concentrate on his own life.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

He lovingly forwaded his gaze towards Jackie. She was sitting at the kitchen table engrossed in a newspaper. She was wearing an old red and black plaid shirt and was humming softly to herself.

He used to hate waking up early the morning because it was too dull and quiet - until Jackie came along. Who wouldn't want to wake up to see a woman wearing one of your old shirts and hum sweetly to your ears?

He glanced at her perfectly manicured nails when his eyes caught some words from the front headline of the newspaper. _Depp_ and _settlement_. He forgot about the meaning of respect and snatched the paper from her hands.

"Tom! What the hell?" Jackie said irritably.

He disregarded her and skimmed though the article. "Wow...the charges were dropped including the restraining order," he read. "She settled for $7 million right before the court date..."

He was surprised she dropped all the charges and he was sure Lily was happy with this because now her father could move on. But still, there was no denying the damage was done. She still hadn't denied abuse and there will always be the same old pictures circling around the media of her bruised eye.

"I didn't know you cared about celebrity gossip, Tommy," Jackie commented humorously.

"It's not gossip!" he corrected, a little too seriously. He cocked his head upwards and saw she was smirking. "Sorry, I'm freaking out. It's just I worked with his daughter in an assignment once."

She lips parted in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, about a year ago, my job was to identify a paparazzi who was taking secret snapshots of her at school. After I wrapped up the assignment, she was going to visit her dad and Amber in London but she didn't seem happy about it because she detested Amber and believed she was trouble," he explained. "But I don't get it... was she trouble or was she a victim?

"Some people believe she's lying," she answered.

He perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah, have you seen the papers?"

"Not recently."

In fact...not at all.

Jackie fingered through a stack of newspapers from the table and handed him one. A headline on the newspaper stated Amber herself was arrested for domestic violence a few years back. It opened up a new passage in his brain, unleashing the idea that Johnny was the one who was abused, not her. He thought only the worst person in the world, a narcassist, would destroy a man's reputation and hurt him and his kids in the process just to get money.

"I bet Lily hates me now..." he found himself saying. "She tried to reach me when the allegations came out but I didn't support her because I sided with Amber."

"I'm sure she doesn't hate you," said Jackie. "And if you care about her that much, you should see her."

"But I can't see her... you know how many times I forgot about this girl? Twice. "

Jackie however, was wonderful. Over the kitchen table that morning, she managed to convince him otherwise just by being supportive.

He didn't feel it was right to call her but visit her instead. He was sure he could find her house because he could never forget that fairy-tale home covered in ivy. His heart thumped with anticipation as he drove to his destination. But once he was there, he seriously thought about turning back.

But he had no choice however, as a small framed girl with blonde locks and brown doe-eyes left the front door and cautiously walked towards him. She looked different somehow. Her hair was longer and she was wearing faded jeans and a black hoodie. Her clothes were quite boyish, different from the clothes he remembered her by.

Other than that, it felt good to see her again because all he saw of her, was reminders. Those reminders were pictures of her in magazines which he caught now and again.

It was no surprise she caught him standing outside her home because the sound of his car driving in was loud enough to create a change in the quiet atmosphere.

Her eyebrows furrowed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I just come to say that I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything."

He felt relief wash over him because he now learned Lily wasn't mad at him like he expected her to be.

But then her expression transormed into a frown in responce of his relieved expression. "No, I mean you didn't _do_ anything!"

He sank back when he realized he was never more wrong.

"You're supposed to be a cop, you should've dug up her files yourself and see she's a total crook!" she exasperated. "My dad's lawyer dug up her files herself at least and found out she was arrested countless times for reckless driving and was almost charged for domestic violence towards her girlfriend!"

"But I've told you, I couldn't dig them up without permission and authorisation from my captain," he argued. He then paused when he realised what her last word was. "Lily... did you just say girlfriend?"

She let out a groan and looked at him as though he was stupid. "Yes, girlfriend, and she even got married to her."

He didn't have anything against oppostite sex relationships but he found it shocking to say at least. It was the eighties and it was uncommon for a woman to marry a woman.

He rebound quickly however. "Trust me Lily... if I had the chance to help your dad, I would've. But I couldn't. It made me feel so bad, I found it easier to avoid you because I couldn't stand the fact that there was nothing I could do."

"But you believed her and not my dad," she accused.

He lowered his head with guilt. "I'm sorry... it's just, I go by the facts. And the fact was, all the papers were saying he was guilty and there was nothing coming from his side. He was just silent."

"He was silent because he was afraid of her and hoped the mess she created would go away," she explained. "But most of all, he was silent because he needed time to grieve after his mother died."

It made sense and it was hard to hear because it made him feel worse. "How is he doing now?" he asked quietly.

"He's okay I suppose. He's with some old friends right now who are trying to help him through it," she replied. "Friends who Ambitch made him stop seeing."

"Oh... and Jack? How is he doing?"

"He's fine. He's with his friends also," she replied. "Because friends make all the difference to your life don't they?"

He knew it was directed at him. "I'm really sorry Lily."

A small smile played in her lips. "But, you're here," she said softly. "I never expected in a million years you would drive out here and visit me."

Suddenly he had a strange feeling come over him. A feeling that caused his heart to swell and his breathing quicken. Suddenly, he felt the urge to kiss her.

 _My god,_ he thought. He didn't know what come over him. He was supposed to love Jackie, not a seventeen year old girl. He had always wondered if she _really_ had feelings for him. But when he asked her that one time, he could've gotten kneed in the groin and put him off from asking again. _What the hell's wrong with me?_ He was lucky enough to be free from any pictures and bullshit stories from the magazines but now he was willing to put himself on a pedestall again?

"Are you alright?" Lily asked.

As soon as he heard her voice again, he looked back to see a girl who looked way younger than seventeen and made him feel like an absolute creep.

"No... uh. I just remembered I had to pick up something for my girlfriend," he babbled quickly.

Lily raised an eyebrow as well as a smile. "A girlfriend?"

"Yeah...Jackie. I met her two months ago."

"Good for you!" Lily smiled.

It looked like a genuine smile. Like a 'I couldn't care less' smile. It made him feel the need to find the answer as to why.

"Are you... seeing anybody?" he asked carefully.

"Yes, I'm seeing this guy named Ash," she replied, rather warmly.

That was why.

"Anyway, I hope my dad won't see anybody else anytime soon because he needs time to recover," she said.

"I can't imagine."

She looked at him for a long while before speaking again. "I'm sorry I got mad at you. I can understand now that there was nothing you could do."

There she was again, trying to strum at his heart strings. It was almost cruel. He needed to get out of here. He tried to save himself as quick as possible by taking a quick glance at his wristwatch.

"I sorry, I really have to pick up this thing for Jackie."

"Okay..." Lily pouted in disappointment. "I'll see you again I hope?"

 _Say no, say no_.

"Yeah, sure," he replied _._

 _You idiot_.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

When he returned home to Jackie, he tried to act normal as possible whilst shame and guilt circulated his brain.

"How did it go?" Jackie asked.

He noticed ahe was still wearing his shirt. "It's all good," he replied. "I can move on from the guilt because she managed to forgive me."

"I knew it would work out Hanson," she smiled before hooking her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his lips. He tried to kiss in return as normal as possible but could feel himself restraining.

"You okay Tommy?"

She obviously noticed.

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired," he excused. "It was quite a long drive."

It wasn't a complete lie because he really _did_ feel tired. He felt tired of fighting for breath from drowning in the sea of guilt. He hoped by going to sleep, his unconsciousness would give him some clarity and he would wake up and think of Jackie. And only Jackie.

But it didn't happen.

 **NOTE: This is where I'm stuck but I'll try and develop it.**


	9. P2 Chapter two

**I don't know if it's the last chapter yet but here you go :)**

Lily called him up and made plans to meet. _Stay in and watch a couple of movies_ , she said. He didn't want to betray Jackie and so all he needed to do was make his mouth work and say no. But before he had enough time to, Lily ended the call.

When he met her again, her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was wearing a black tracksuit and a pink floral top. The top was something she would wear a year ago, but not the rest of the style.

"My mom's going to be out for a few hours," Lily said before taking his arm and leading him to the kitchen. "So we can raid the fridge!"

She opened up the fridge and took out a bottle of wine.

"You should put that back."

"I'm only having a bit of it!" she said insisted. She carried on forking through the fridge. "There's nothing else that's exciting to snack on because my mom is such a health freak!"

She perked up suddenly however. "We can make popcorn though!"

While she prepared to make popcorn, he began to get cold feet.

"When is your mom coming back?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "She just said a few hours."

"And how long are we going to watch movies?"

"Oh my god Tom, I forgot how uptight you are," Lily laughed. She then teased him by throwing a kernel directly at his chest.

"Are we ready to party?" a unfamiliar voice interrupted.

He turned round and saw a young guy. He was pasty-faced, wore a red tracksuit and had an over-sized black beanie hat on his head.

"Hey!" the guy laughed when he noticed they had a guest. "Is this the copper guy you were talking about?"

"Yep!" Lily replied.

"He looks like a kid."

"And you are?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"Ash."

His jaw almost dropped. _What the hell is she doing with this guy?_ Just in the first few seconds of meeting him, he could tell he had a bad attitude. He could have been Dennis Booker's son!

"How much do you get paid?" Ash asked.

When he told him, Ash laughed. "I get paid more than you and all I do is stand there and get snapped."

Before he questioned what he meant, Lily explained.

"He works as a model."

Ash had the face to be a model but the fact he dressed rough and had tattoos all over his arms come to a question.

He didn't like this at all. At first, he felt uncomfortable being alone with Lily and wished her mom would come home. But he was granted with an alternative wish and didn't like it at all. He didn't want around another minute with this guy.

Next up, Ash took old a rolled cigarette from his pocket. He could tell right away it was weed so before Ash had the chance to light it, he snatched it away.

"It's illegal."

Ash laughed. "Lilz, I thought you said he was cool?"

Lily frowned directly to him. "Tom, give it back."

"But it's illegal."

"Don't worry about it, I've got another," Ash grinned. He took a step back to safety and re-lit another.

He would've left right there right then but instead he stayed with them at watch a movie. He drove back, regretting the visit. He felt angry the whole time he was there, believing Ash to be a bad role model for Lily. He didn't even enjoy the movie because it was about gangsters. He had enough experience with gangsters as an undercover cop already.

To make things worse, he learned Ash's age while he was there. He first thought he was younger than him but it turned out, he was a year older. He was twenty-five. He was outraged. It was like a slap in the face because all that time, the age difference between him and Lily greatly bothered him. He was also confused as to why she picked someone who looked rather similar to him. He was pale like Ash and young looking like Ash. The main thing that was missing was maturity.

Lily's choice bothered him so much, he did something irresponsible.

Instead of spending his evening with Jackie, he slipped out of the door to go for a walk. And that walk ended up leading into a small bar and ordering himself a draft. He very rarely drank but that night was no exception. He had an intention to drink away the confusion that clouded his head.

 _Why should I even care who Lily falls in love with?_

 _As long as she's happy, it's fine right?_

When he wasn't thinking about Lily, he thought about Jackie, wondering how he could betray her and felt like the worst person in the world.

He downed drink after drink in the loneliest bar in the city until his brain was too sloshed to come home to Jackie that night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When the sun rose, he went into work un-showered, with yesterday's clothes and unruly hair. Going into work wasn't the best idea because he was suffering from his very first hangover, introducing him to a splitting headache and a stomach full of nausea. He tried to get on with his first tasks at his desk but ended up dropping his head in his hands and closing his eyes for a while.

After a long stretch of time passed, he heard some commotion and something being placed on his desk. He mustered up enough strength to lift his head to find Doug had given him a mug of coffee.

He was going to thank him for his odd generosity but the expression on his face was enough to take the words out of his mouth. His friend's expression was creased in concern and worry.

"Jackie phoned me last night wondering where you were," he began. "She said you slipped out in the middle of the night and didn't come home."

Dammit.

It was like he committed a crime and was being put up on a court stand. Fortunately, he had the legal rights to be silent.

"Where did you go?"

He felt lucky to have an old friend who keeps him together... not Doug but the coffee. But like all friends, there can be disagreements as the once, soothing hot liquid, was no thick and picking up at the back of his throat. He let out a groan and covered his mouth.

"Have you been drinking?" Doug questioned. He didn't even need to reply to that because the way he was sitting there with his hand over his mouth said it all.

"No way!" Doug cried. "I would've applauded you for getting your first hangover but the fact that you didn't come home to Jackie and possibly drank alone, I don't think so. This is so unlike you, Hanson."

The nausea sliding up his throat was warning enough that he had to get to the bathroom - quick. So he stumbled over where his legs could take him into the bathroom. But once he got there to the basin, nothing came out. He should've been thankful but the nausea still felt unpleasant.

"You alright?"

 _Am I alright?_ He rested his palms upon the basin to hold himself up and glanced at the bathroom mirror. He knew the answer to that one. His eyes were bloodshot and his complexion was sickly pale.

"I'm fallen for someone else," he finally spoke. He thought he might as well come out of it because like the nausea, he couldn't stand it picking up and fighting to get out. Besides, the bathroom as like a confessional booth in the chapel.

Now it was Doug's turn to be silent as shock and surprise must have took hold of him. He was the one who set him up with Jackie after all and thought things were going great.

"The thing is, she probably doesn't feel the same way about me," he said. "Because she's already dating some other guy."

"Oh right..."

"And she's a seventeen year's old Doug," he blurted out.

"Seventeen? That's pretty young," said Doug in surprise. "Where did you meet her?"

"While I was undercover in some school..."

"You what?" Doug cried. "You know that's not allowed Tom!"

"I know. It was some case I did last year. I didn't have any feelings for her until I bumped into her again recently."

"What was the case?"

He didn't reply to let Doug's brain do all the ticking.

"I'm not good at guesswork Tom, so just tell me."

He fought against the sickness as he came out with a big confession. "Lily Rose."

His friend looked at him blankly.

"...Depp."

"Depp?" he suddenly cried. "As in, movie star whose worth millions, Depp?"

He didn't even let him reply as he cried out. "Are you crazy?!

"Maybe, I don't know. Ever since I bumped into her recently, I hadn't been able to get her out of my mind."

Doug let out a breath. "You should tell Jackie."

He laughed in disbelief. "I can't hurt her like that. And besides, nothing would probably happen between me and Lily."

"But you're not being fair to Jackie!"

"I know..."

"If you're not going to tell her, you could at least forget about the girl because you know there would be some major consequences if you date her. Eternal Affairs would be up your ass, you could end up in the media and you could end up losing your job!"

"I'm not stupid, Doug, I _know_ what would happen."

"Then forget about the girl!"

"I've been trying to, Doug believe me," he argued. "Why'd you think I got myself drunk last night?"

His friend looked at him sympathetically. "Drinking doesn't solve anything, Tom."

He knew that because not only did he wake up in the bar with a hangover, but he also woke up thinking about her again. He didn't know what to do. He loved Lily but didn't want to break it off with Jackie because a part of him still loved her. And the reality was, it wasn't possible date her anyway considering the circumstances.

"Don't tell a word to Jackie while I sort this out myself, okay?"

"Okay... but think carefully about this because one decision could end up completely destroying your life."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the end he decided to carry on trying to forget Lily. Although it was hard. He never confessed to Jackie. And when she asked about that night when he didn't come home, he lied that he had to finish off a mountain of paperwork at the chapel. She didn't bat an eyelid and carried on loving him without question. In return, he tried his hardest to love her back while pushing Lily out of his mind.

Over the next few weeks, things were going great. They went bowling together a lot, watched movies and went to a sushi bar the other day... it wasn't until he did a quick top up shop and one of the items included a magazine for Jackie. While traffic was slow on his way back, he idly picked up the magazine and had a flip through. At page fifteen, he saw his other love.

Lily.

It showed pictures of her walking through an airport with luggage and wearing a hood over her head. Beside her was a tall looking guy, wearing an over-sized shirt, black leather jacket and a beanie hat. In the article it said the couple were flying out to Venice to attend a film festival premiering Lily's new film called _Planetarium_.

There was something else that bothered him. In the article, it said the Ash guy had a kid. He couldn't help but feel jealous. Even though he couldn't stand kids sometimes, he still wanted one.

Suddenly a horn blared from behind him, demanding him to move along with the traffic.

Although painful, he tried to forget about it because he had to be rational. At least Lily was happy. The drama between her father and Amber she was centered around, was forgotten. It hadn't hurt her movie career and she was blossoming into a young woman with a good head on her shoulders.

 _As long as she's happy...I don't care,_ he kept telling himself in his head.


End file.
